-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Rock Band 3 |OT|
- Thread starter DuckRacer
- Start date
itsnervedamage
Member
TheApatheticOne said:
Do you have the mute thing up? It's that felt covered thing where usually there is a second pickup. Press on it to mute and unmute. Guitar flat out doesn't work if you let strings ring, you have to mute them.
I had a ton of trouble getting the audio and video lag configured, but now that everything is synced it is great. Worked my way through Living in America and I Love Rock&Roll on pro expert, so good. Except on the I Love Rock&Roll solo, where it is psychologically excruciating not to play the bends. Small complaint though. Still a lot of work to do before I try Dragonforce...
Fixes Pro guitar issues
http://www.rockbandaide.com/11874/new-rock-band-3-update-fixes-pro-guitar-issues/
http://www.rockbandaide.com/11874/new-rock-band-3-update-fixes-pro-guitar-issues/
TheApatheticOne
Member
itsnervedamage said:
Okay, so....where do I sign up for biggest moron at? Lol. Thats what I get for diving right in without looking or reading anything. Thanks!
bumpkin
Member
I got mine last night and played around with it for about two or three hours, mostly in the training mode. As a disclaimer, I am by no means a skilled guitarist. I've only played a Fender acoustic (which I own) and an Ovation electric-acoustic (that a friend has). I know the basic chords, but suck at chord changes.TheApatheticOne said:
That being said, so far I dig it. It's more or less what I expected based on the "Rose of Jericho" guy's three part video review. My quick thoughts...
+ Feels solid and substantial like a regular electric guitar
+ The position detection on the Frets is really responsive
+ With a good pick (I'm using a Fender heavy) strumming feels good
- The bottom (thinnest) E string seems to not always register if I don't pluck it hard
- If you don't have guitar calluses on your fingertips, holding strings can hurt (due to the thick strings it uses)
I haven't tried it plugged into an amp yet... I don't even own one. Sometime I may try it with Garage Band on my Mac once I get the hang of a song or two in-game.
bumpkin said:
The sensitivity can be adjusted by either raising or lowering the pickup or tuning the pots that are located inside the battery compartment just below the batteries - unscrew the flap and you will find 6 screws that adjust sensitivity for each string. Check the Rock Band support forums for more info.
Maastricht
Member
I just successfully ordered the MIDI adapter from amazon.de, so they not only have it fully in stock but also ship it to the Netherlands. Same for Rock Band: Beatles, which I now even got for 7,50 euro. As a nice detail, on gaf there's a screenshot suggesting that we'll be able to import the songs from that into Rockband 3 in the near future.
Intending to use the MIDI adapter with a regular MIDI keyboard; though you also need it for the Squier, I am going to remain happy with the Mustang for now.
Intending to use the MIDI adapter with a regular MIDI keyboard; though you also need it for the Squier, I am going to remain happy with the Mustang for now.
Beer Monkey
Member
What are the best drums out there these days? Other than the Ion set, I'm talking for reasonable cash.
butter_stick
Banned
Beer Monkey said:
RB3 kit is fine for most people. It's been flawless for me since I got it.
Maastricht
Member
If the MIDI adapter shows up, I'm wondering about what I should get next. I'm currently really interested in the Yamaha NP30, as it seems to be a decent piano with a near full-sized keyboard (76 keys), but with a lighter weight which should make it a little easier for fast keyboard type stuff, and weighing just 5kg in total, so pretty easy to hide away somewhere when needed.
It's that or a cheap MIDI controller, but I really like my keyboards to be able to do at least a decent standalone piano sound, and this one seems a pretty good combination of lightweight, full size keys (but lighter), good piano sound and MIDI in/out obviously. I used to have a Roland E-16 which I could just about live with (though much nicer to hook it up to my xv-5050's much better piano sound), but the power connector has worn completely to bits so I need something new. The NP30 doesn't have many sounds, but I rarely want many, and when I do, there's still that xv-5050.
What doo you guys use for keyboard parts?
It's that or a cheap MIDI controller, but I really like my keyboards to be able to do at least a decent standalone piano sound, and this one seems a pretty good combination of lightweight, full size keys (but lighter), good piano sound and MIDI in/out obviously. I used to have a Roland E-16 which I could just about live with (though much nicer to hook it up to my xv-5050's much better piano sound), but the power connector has worn completely to bits so I need something new. The NP30 doesn't have many sounds, but I rarely want many, and when I do, there's still that xv-5050.
What doo you guys use for keyboard parts?
Got my Squier. Even knowing that the Midi adaptor was needed for navigation, I wasn't prepared for how annoying it would be. And since the midi adaptor doesn't support external kick pedal/stomp box overdrive activation, there doesn't seem any decent way to activate overdrive, so my scores will never be competitive (like they ever were lol).
I know the midi adaptor was designed to be a little stompable, but there is no way I'm stomping on my $40 piece of plastic :\
Otherwise... Having some trouble with strings registering (oddly, the B string seems most problematic) but I cranked the pickup up and... now I'm mostly having problems with false positives. Sounded like crap with my amp, but then it's a crap amp. Sigh. Still a neat piece of kit.
I know the midi adaptor was designed to be a little stompable, but there is no way I'm stomping on my $40 piece of plastic :\
Otherwise... Having some trouble with strings registering (oddly, the B string seems most problematic) but I cranked the pickup up and... now I'm mostly having problems with false positives. Sounded like crap with my amp, but then it's a crap amp. Sigh. Still a neat piece of kit.
Maastricht
Member
Got that NP30, very happy with it. The built-in speakers aren't fantastic, but on headphones you can hear it is high-quality stuff (really great, much better than anything I had on the XV5050 or E-16), and the overal build-quality seems excellent. The piano keys turned out to be exactly what I hoped they would be - shaped and sized like real piano keys, but just that little bit lighter to the touch versus real piano keys, which would make certain keyboard-style use too hard/heavy on the fingers (for instance also for Rockband).
MIDI features are great too, have been playing with that XV5050 for a bit already, works a treat. Now I'm just dying for that MIDI adapter! Should be here any day, but if it doesn't get here today (which seems increasingly likely) that means I won't have it before Tuesday probably.
Also got Rockband: Beatles, which I'm enjoying. I love While My Guitar Gently Weeps - the only song which I immediately played again. Playing everything on Expert Guitar currently (which is harder than I thought, but not very hard, as I always get 3-5 stars), will probably start with drums soon. My wife even expressed interest in doing harmonies with me.
EDIT: and it should NEVER be quiet here. There is just no excuse.
MIDI features are great too, have been playing with that XV5050 for a bit already, works a treat. Now I'm just dying for that MIDI adapter! Should be here any day, but if it doesn't get here today (which seems increasingly likely) that means I won't have it before Tuesday probably.
Also got Rockband: Beatles, which I'm enjoying. I love While My Guitar Gently Weeps - the only song which I immediately played again. Playing everything on Expert Guitar currently (which is harder than I thought, but not very hard, as I always get 3-5 stars), will probably start with drums soon. My wife even expressed interest in doing harmonies with me.
EDIT: and it should NEVER be quiet here. There is just no excuse.
Tried the real guitar at a friends' place. It was awesome, and did a good job of representing what you are supposed to be doing with your fingers. I sucked at it (never played guitar before), but I'm interested in learning. It has motivated me to pick up a copy of the game and the MIDI adapter for my keyboard.
Are there any weird compatibility issues with keyboards, or would any Casio with MIDI out work?
Are there any weird compatibility issues with keyboards, or would any Casio with MIDI out work?
bumpkin
Member
I was having occasional trouble with one or two strings not registering unless I really plucked 'em hard, so I made adjustments to the pickup based on what the instructions said/recommended. I found it weird that out-of-the-box, the measurements from the fretted string to the pickup didn't match what the instructions say is the ideal measurement. I haven't had a chance to really test it out again though. I'll report back once I do...jgkspsx said:
Maastricht
Member
From the rockband forums' sticky threads:
Q: Can I use any keyboard with it?
A: You should be able to use any keyboard with a standard MIDI output. There is a list of tested to be compatible keyboards in the MIDI PRO Manual.
And a handful of keyboards they actually tested with:
http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/4741/mptestedkeyboardlist.jpg
Q: How are the keys of my MIDI keyboard mapped in RB3?
A: In Pro mode keys are mapped from C3 - C5. In Standard mode the white keys only are mapped from C4 to G4. The pitch wheel is used for whammy.
I should point out at this point that the NP30 that I got does not have a pitch change wheel. That is it's only drawback, as far as I am concerned, but nothing I was planning to use with Rockband anyway. One corner of the MIDI controller is used for overdrive - that is probably a bit of a drawback versus the keytar, but I think I'll just place that on the floor in place of my sustain pedal.
Would actually have been sweet if they could support a sustain pedal press for overdrive, though I don't know if that is actually a MIDI signal.
EDIT: someone gives a small review who tried it with an old Yamaha PSR300
http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?t=215119&highlight=MIDI+keyboard
EDIT2:
Lieferung voraussichtlich: 5. Mai 2011 - 23. Mai 2011
Gah. It wasn't amazon that was stocking this, but it's being sent through gameseek. So looks like it'll be a little while before I'll have it (though reviews say that the stuff generally appears sooner than the delivery date suggests). *sigh*
Q: Can I use any keyboard with it?
A: You should be able to use any keyboard with a standard MIDI output. There is a list of tested to be compatible keyboards in the MIDI PRO Manual.
And a handful of keyboards they actually tested with:
http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/4741/mptestedkeyboardlist.jpg
Q: How are the keys of my MIDI keyboard mapped in RB3?
A: In Pro mode keys are mapped from C3 - C5. In Standard mode the white keys only are mapped from C4 to G4. The pitch wheel is used for whammy.
I should point out at this point that the NP30 that I got does not have a pitch change wheel. That is it's only drawback, as far as I am concerned, but nothing I was planning to use with Rockband anyway. One corner of the MIDI controller is used for overdrive - that is probably a bit of a drawback versus the keytar, but I think I'll just place that on the floor in place of my sustain pedal.
Would actually have been sweet if they could support a sustain pedal press for overdrive, though I don't know if that is actually a MIDI signal.
EDIT: someone gives a small review who tried it with an old Yamaha PSR300
http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?t=215119&highlight=MIDI+keyboard
EDIT2:
Lieferung voraussichtlich: 5. Mai 2011 - 23. Mai 2011
Gah. It wasn't amazon that was stocking this, but it's being sent through gameseek. So looks like it'll be a little while before I'll have it (though reviews say that the stuff generally appears sooner than the delivery date suggests). *sigh*
Maastricht
Member
Sweet, my MIDI adapter arrived today already! Keyboard impressions incoming probably tomorrow.
Figured I would post some impressions on the guitar, although I haven't played it in game yet. I've played guitar on and off for 15 years. I'm not an expert, but I know my way around a guitar.
Okay, so I bought the Squier primarily as a MIDI controller and to that end, it works pretty well. The plastic fretboard does feel really low quality compared to the fretboards on the rest of my guitars, it feels like it's scraping when you do a bend or vibrato. That said, the controller doesn't pick those up, so I'll just have to get used to not doing them! It sounds pretty much like you'd expect a cheap one pickup guitar to sound, bright and shrill, but it gets the job done.
When I got mine, the MIDI pickup would only register the low E. I had to open the battery compartment, and then under that, there's another set of 2 screws which can be taken out to reveal some variable resistors. Turn them counter-clockwise to make the MIDI sensor more sensitive, clockwise to make it less sensitive. After about 30 minutes of tweaking, I was getting reliable results on my MIDI recording station from the guitar. There are two modes, a synth mode which does a Note-ON on each fret change and a normal mode which does a Note-On on each strum.
Overall, I'm pretty happy with the guitar for what I paid, it's not a great guitar or a great MIDI guitar, but I feel like it was worth it and it's a cool toy.
Okay, so I bought the Squier primarily as a MIDI controller and to that end, it works pretty well. The plastic fretboard does feel really low quality compared to the fretboards on the rest of my guitars, it feels like it's scraping when you do a bend or vibrato. That said, the controller doesn't pick those up, so I'll just have to get used to not doing them! It sounds pretty much like you'd expect a cheap one pickup guitar to sound, bright and shrill, but it gets the job done.
When I got mine, the MIDI pickup would only register the low E. I had to open the battery compartment, and then under that, there's another set of 2 screws which can be taken out to reveal some variable resistors. Turn them counter-clockwise to make the MIDI sensor more sensitive, clockwise to make it less sensitive. After about 30 minutes of tweaking, I was getting reliable results on my MIDI recording station from the guitar. There are two modes, a synth mode which does a Note-ON on each fret change and a normal mode which does a Note-On on each strum.
Overall, I'm pretty happy with the guitar for what I paid, it's not a great guitar or a great MIDI guitar, but I feel like it was worth it and it's a cool toy.
toymachine
Member
blah blah blah no Rock Band 4 in 2011
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/featu...-future-of-rock-band-dlc.aspx?PostPageIndex=3
Milchmonster
Member
Foo
Maastricht
Member
So got to try my MIDI Pro Adapter with my Yamaha NP30, and have to say: Pro Keyboard is awesome! Very happy now. Sure, there are some early 'warmup' level songs where you think - why does this track even have keyboard in it in the first place, where it is just some nonsense synth that barely adds anything and is drowned out completely by bass and guitar, but as soon as you get to difficulty levels of 2 and up, things start to get pretty exciting and there is some great music to be played.
I am also quite pleased with the keyboard lessons in the game - I never took actual lessons and although I can find my way around the keyboard fairly well, these lessons are actually useful. I could get through the advanced scales lessons for instance pretty easily, but they did teach me (and in one case reminded me) the correct way to do various scales with helpful pointers about what technique to use which was in part why I managed to do them so easily. By contrast, some of the advanced chord lessons took me an hour to get.
The major downside I guess would be that the game basically only teaches you one handed play, so if you want to progress beyond that you'll need to either teach yourself to play basslines with your right hand, or get real piano lessons. But I'm having a blast, and when I played some freestyle after my long session (I think I may have played 4-5 hours straight), I was already a better player.
I had a tonne of fun with a song that has some really jazzy chords and progressions. It is very hard (even if it only says level 3 or so) and I went into training mode for it to learn the chord progressions, and am quite a bit from mastering that song yet, but it is a really great song. Can't find or remember the title, ironically, but it was very late. Will look it up. It's probably a DLC song, come to think of it.
I am also quite pleased with the keyboard lessons in the game - I never took actual lessons and although I can find my way around the keyboard fairly well, these lessons are actually useful. I could get through the advanced scales lessons for instance pretty easily, but they did teach me (and in one case reminded me) the correct way to do various scales with helpful pointers about what technique to use which was in part why I managed to do them so easily. By contrast, some of the advanced chord lessons took me an hour to get.
The major downside I guess would be that the game basically only teaches you one handed play, so if you want to progress beyond that you'll need to either teach yourself to play basslines with your right hand, or get real piano lessons. But I'm having a blast, and when I played some freestyle after my long session (I think I may have played 4-5 hours straight), I was already a better player.
I had a tonne of fun with a song that has some really jazzy chords and progressions. It is very hard (even if it only says level 3 or so) and I went into training mode for it to learn the chord progressions, and am quite a bit from mastering that song yet, but it is a really great song. Can't find or remember the title, ironically, but it was very late. Will look it up.
It's probably a DLC song, come to think of it.its a shame that the pro keyboard doesn't let you use all the keys when you use a MIDI controller. The octave shift thing is a PITA so most of the time I just play regular non-pro keys. we have a piano with a MIDI interface that we could use but it'd be cool if it didn't pitch shift in that case.
Sold my mustang as it wasn't getting any use - I'd overdosed on the full drumkit and pro keyboard, so I'll stick with those for now - the drums are just fantastic, so much better with cymbals
Sold my mustang as it wasn't getting any use - I'd overdosed on the full drumkit and pro keyboard, so I'll stick with those for now - the drums are just fantastic, so much better with cymbals
SouthernDragon
Member
toymachine said:
No kidding?
Glad to hear confirmation, though, they need to let the genre cool. Let the DLC build and have the genre stabilize a bit, it overheated and crashed.
Maastricht
Member
mrklaw said:
Maybe, though on the other hand I have the MIDI Pro controller's overdrive buttong lying around in the C0-C2 area for my left hand to press overdrive when necessary. I'd have to keep moving that around a little if the range would shift depending on the song. And although it is a shame that the game can't do full right and left hand all over the keyboard yet, at least this arrangement gives me room to do my own bass line in the non-charted area. At least I see some potential for this. Of course it would be nice if perhaps you could have a double chart for keyboard, one for melody / right hand, and one for bass / left hand. That way they could also support making use of more than just the two chords.
I can imagine. My Guitar Hero kit always came with three toms and two cymbals, which I always thought was much better (back when I got it). Nowadays though of course I'm more jealous of not being able to play pro drums in Rockband than anything else.
I'll definitely never sell my Mustang, as guitar is still my first love (even if now it is still mostly Pro Bass on Expert). But in Rockband, drums and keys are definitely awesome as well, and overall the game is fast becoming my no 1 most loved game of all time, at least in so far as you can still call it a game rather than an interactive teacher / music experience ...
SiegfriedFM
Member
Oh no! I'm getting an "Unable to load song, skipping" error on every non-RB3 disc song right now. Obviously I'm unable to log onto PSN to sort out any licensing issues, but I'm playing on my original PS3, with my original user.
We're having a Rock Band evening tomorrow, don't tell me I won't be able to access 75% of my songs as long as PSN stays down!
We're having a Rock Band evening tomorrow, don't tell me I won't be able to access 75% of my songs as long as PSN stays down!
SiegfriedFM
Member
Maybe I was a bit vague. RB3 disc songs load fine, but every DLC song (including exported RB1 and RB2) gives me the error.
toymachine
Member
http://www.rockbandaide.com/12205/toysrus-puts-rock-band-3-on-sale-at-10
"The Best Music Game Ever Made" is now $10
"The Best Music Game Ever Made" is now $10
Rewrite
Not as deep as he thinks
I know what you were talking about. It was pretty clear lolSiegfriedFM said:
When I get home I'll boot up the game and see if I have the same problem. If I do, it could be due to the PSN down time but I doubt it since it loaded up all my exports/DLC just fine yesterday.
How the mighty have fallen. :teheetoymachine said:
SiegfriedFM
Member
Since I can't connect to PSN, the game logs me in as my standard PS3 user name. I'm guessing that's the problem... and if so, I'm locked out until the shit works.
Strangely enough I tried to disconnect my ethernet earlier and started the game, while PSN was still alive. I wanted to see if I could bring the console to my parents and not have to have internet access there. It worked then, strange that it won't work now.
Also, same problem with The Beatles: Rock Band but that game just locks on the loading screen rather than giving me an error. That kind of rules out HDD errors and probably leaves licensing trouble.
Strangely enough I tried to disconnect my ethernet earlier and started the game, while PSN was still alive. I wanted to see if I could bring the console to my parents and not have to have internet access there. It worked then, strange that it won't work now.
Also, same problem with The Beatles: Rock Band but that game just locks on the loading screen rather than giving me an error. That kind of rules out HDD errors and probably leaves licensing trouble.
toymachine
Member
DLC Week of 5/10 - Foo Fighters 4 Pack & Legacy Pro Upgrades! Plus Lordi & Run DMC!
Hey gang,
As some of you may have seen, we teased some of the May DLC in a recent article on Game Informer to a hugely positive response! We revealed upcoming DLC from the Foo Fighters, Lady Gaga and Ozzy Osbourne, though you'll likely see a few other surprises in the mix.
Here's the first look at the specific Foo Fighters tracks coming out next week, some of the most requested songs we've seen on the forums as of late! Enjoy!
Available on Xbox 360 and Wii (May 10) and PlayStation®3 system (May 19):
Foo Fighters Long Road to Ruin
Foo Fighters Rope X
Foo Fighters Stacked Actors
Foo Fighters Walk
Lordi Hard Rock Hallelujah
Run-DMC King of Rock
Pro Guitar Additions for Legacy Songs
Foo Fighters Monkey Wrench
Foo Fighters The Pretender
Hey gang,
As some of you may have seen, we teased some of the May DLC in a recent article on Game Informer to a hugely positive response! We revealed upcoming DLC from the Foo Fighters, Lady Gaga and Ozzy Osbourne, though you'll likely see a few other surprises in the mix.
Here's the first look at the specific Foo Fighters tracks coming out next week, some of the most requested songs we've seen on the forums as of late! Enjoy!
Available on Xbox 360 and Wii (May 10) and PlayStation®3 system (May 19):
Foo Fighters Long Road to Ruin
Foo Fighters Rope X
Foo Fighters Stacked Actors
Foo Fighters Walk
Lordi Hard Rock Hallelujah
Run-DMC King of Rock
Pro Guitar Additions for Legacy Songs
Foo Fighters Monkey Wrench
Foo Fighters The Pretender
canadian crowe
Member
Has there been any more rumors about Harmonix's big E3 announcement?
As odd as this sounds, I'm actually hedging my bets on a Queen:Rock Band. Last year (July) Brian May basically leaked details about it, I got this quote off of softpedia, but Gamespot also reported it last year. Personally, I hope it's true.
As odd as this sounds, I'm actually hedging my bets on a Queen:Rock Band. Last year (July) Brian May basically leaked details about it, I got this quote off of softpedia, but Gamespot also reported it last year. Personally, I hope it's true.
I thought the safe bet was Dance Central 2 and possibly a Beatles export if you want to go out on a limb. I doubt they'd do a new Queen physical release when no one really cares enough to pay $60 for Rock Band anymore, especially when most of Queen's hits have already been put up twice on the RB store.